Monday, August 29, 2016

Food on a Sunday Afternoon

I see that I have never had a "food" tag before. I guess the only time I have talked about food on the blog was when I was visiting Madrid. But a lot of musicians are secret foodies, myself included. Yesterday I roasted a chicken, which I often do on a Sunday afternoon. I have been trying some new recipes lately, but the one yesterday really came out great:

Click to enlarge

Roast chicken is really a very simple thing to make and it is an excellent accompaniment to a good wine. It was a warm day, so instead of opening a red, which I would usually do, I opened this:


I am not the biggest fan of Italian whites, which seem to lack flavor when vinfied bone dry, but I've always liked Orvieto, especially the slightly off-dry version called Orvieto Abbocato. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it for sale for quite a while. But this was quite nice.

Back to the recipe. A long time ago I roasted a chicken stuffed with garlic and it turned out great. This recipe calls for both lemon and garlic. It's really easy. Just take a whole chicken, rinse it off and dry it thoroughly inside and out. Salt and pepper the interior. Stuff it with a lemon, quartered and two heads (not cloves, heads!) of garlic cut crosswise so as to expose all the cloves. Tie the legs up. Put it in a roasting pan surrounded by cut up carrots, small potatoes cut in half and onions. Melt five tablespoons of butter and brush the bird all over. Pour the rest of the butter over the vegetables and bird. Salt and pepper everything. Then roast it in a 400-425 oven for between an hour and an hour and a half. A few months ago a friend gave me a meat thermometer and I don't know how I got along without one! After about an hour, test the chicken by inserting the pointy end deep in between the thigh and the breast. When it reads 165ยบ, the chicken is done. All those other methods are inaccurate and too subjective.


After it is done, remove from the oven and put the chicken on a cutting board. Allow it to rest for fifteen minutes. While it is resting, put the roasting pan with the vegetables back in the oven for fifteen minutes to finish them. That's it. Carve the bird and serve with the vegetables and a good wine. This will go with absolutely any wine and vice versa.

  • aged Pauillac
  • Riesling
  • Chardonnay
  • Malbec from Argentina
  • Rioja
  • Ribera del Duero
  • any of the fine premium wines from Torres like Celeste, which is from the Ribera del Duero
You name it! But please, nothing in a box!


8 comments:

Christine Lacroix said...

Here's a short clip " Why does Hollywood keep using the same pieces of classical music......

http://www.slate.com

Scroll down for a piece on the 'millenial whoop'

Bryan Townsend said...

That link just takes us to the main Slate page? I looked at the one on the millennial whoop--actually pretty interesting! Thanks.

Christine Lacroix said...

The video on classical music in films is on the Slate home page titled 'Why Does Hollywood Keep Using the Same Pieces of Classical Music'. You'll find it right under the bit about Anthony Weiner. It's also in the 'video' secion and called 'O Fortuna is Getting Old. I don't know if you'll find much in it that you don't already know.
http://www.slate.com

Bryan Townsend said...

Found it! It is going in the Friday Miscellanea.

Christine Lacroix said...

Glad you found it interesting. The very interesting interview with Hilary Hahn was also on Slate, if I remember correctly. They must have a good music journalist.

Marc in Eugene said...

Read about the Sunday roast chicken and thought, 'they [cooking/wine posts] do quickly attract the comments!'-- only to discover a boring exchange about music &c, tsk. [This is a joke!]

Christine Lacroix said...

Funny Marc! I never know where to post some miscellaneous item that might interest Bryan. I thought, well, music and food do go well together, right?

Bryan Townsend said...

I was sort of expecting a whole bunch of sneering comments about how I have no idea of how to roast a chicken and all my wine suggestions are jejune! But no, just some mild back and forth about music. I'll have to do a few more food posts and see what gets people riled up...